ELKHART — Tom Naquin Chevrolet was recently recognized by GM Fleet and Commercial as the No. 1 dealership in the north-central region in small business sales volume.

In a letter to the dealership in January, Ed Peper, U.S. vice president of General Motors Fleet and Commercial Sales wrote, “you and your team made huge contributions to our sales success in the month and the year. I want to personally thank you for all of your hard work.”

He cited sales results for GM Fleet and Commercial and said, “those are great results considering the economic climate we had to deal with throughout the year,” a climate that made small-business owners hesitant to buy.

“The good news is that all of the key automotive analysts anticipate that the industry will again grow in 2013 and due to pent-up demand, we anticipate that small business owners will be ready to buy,” Peper wrote.